Fiery Kyrgios accuses umpire of 'match-rigging'

Controversial Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios accuses officials of rigging his Queen's Club match v Roberto; says it's ridiculous that linesmen are not penalised for a bad day's work

London: Nick Kyrgios made a characteristically controversial exit at Queen's Club on Thursday as the Australian blasted officials and accused a line judge of "match-rigging". Kyrgios, 24, let rip after he had been given a code violation by umpire Fergus Murphy for querying a line call on a set point in his first-round match with Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain.

Kyrgios, who was disqualified from the Italian Open last month for throwing a chair across court amid a foul-mouthed rant, would not let the call lie and threatened to walk off the court. "I'm not going to give 100 percent when I've got linesmen rigging the game; I don't want to play," said Kyrgios. However, he did return to beat Carballes Baena 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 before losing a tight second-round match against Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/3), 7-5.

Andy Murray and Feliciano Lopez celebrate their doubles win over Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in London. Pic/AP, PTI

Outrageous calls
"I thought some of the calls were outrageous today. It shouldn't have to come down to me and Felix giving each other points," said Kyrgios after playing on an outside court without Hawk-Eye technology. Kyrgios has been routinely fined for his behaviour on court. His outburst at the Rome Masters which saw him default a second-round tie against Norway's Casper Ruud cost him a 20,000 euro ($22,000) fine, along with his 34,000 euro prize money.

However, he accused the ATP of double standards with no punishment for officials who make bad calls. "Why can't they get fined for having a terrible day in the chair? Like, there's hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line. It's not a joke," he added. "Why not have another umpire ready to come in if that guy's have a terrible day? I don't understand. I have to pay the fines for it."

Winning return for Murray
Former World No. 1 Andy Murray made a victorious return after what he described as "life-changing" hip surgery at a raucous Queen's. The three-time Grand Slam champion partnered Spain's Feliciano Lopez to a 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 victory in his first competitive match in five months.

Felix stuns Tsitsipas
Canadian teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime claimed the scalp of Greek top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas at Queen's yesterday with an impressive 7-5, 6-2 victory. At 18, Auger-Aliassime becomes the youngest Queen's semi-finalist since Australia's Lleyton Hewitt at the same age in 1999.

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